Spa manager addresses transgender guest controversy

WASHINGTON – A transgender woman says she was kicked out of a local spa. But the spa tells a different story.

James Lee, the manager of Spa World in Centreville, Va., tells the Washington City Paper that transgender woman Riya Suising was asked to leave the Korean-style bathhouse late last year after other customers complained about her presence in the women’s communal bath.

Suising has filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau claiming discrimination.

The bureau opened an investigation and another spa employee issued a written response saying the spa did not “accept” homosexuals or transgenders at the facility, the Fairfax Times reported.

But Lee says the employee was not fluent in English and called it a miscommunication, according to the City Paper.

He says the spa does not discriminate and that Suising was not forced to leave. She was given a full refund.